I have a theory entitled: The Necessity of Transitional Art. And I would like feedback to see if it's making sense to anyone. I think that transitional art is necessary to get to the really good stuff. Let's say you're a huge fan of the musical group, Wilco. You probably wouldn't have liked them when you were 7. Since you had never been exposed to anything like it before, it was strange and awkward, and therefore, unenjoyable to you. Back to Sesame Street sing-a-longs. But, then you hear the California Raisins, they lead you into MoTown, you start giving different radio dials a try. Matchbox 20, yeah, pretty catchy. That gets you into Ryan Adams. And then finally. You hear Wilco's album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And you wonder where it's been your whole life. I think the same transition takes place for everything. Books: Nancy Drew - Lord of the Flies - Tolstoy. Movies: Honey I Shrunk the Kids - The Sandlot - My Cousin Vinny - The Fugitive - The Godfather. Food, clothing, knowledge, wisdom. It's all the same. Even though something may be great, it may take us a while to get there. So, instead of trying to argue that the Godfather is the best film of all time with someone who's not listening, let them borrow 'My Cousin Vinny' instead. They'll get there.

How do we reconcile instinct with evolution? I saw this flock of birds flying on the way to work, and it was absolutely spectacular. That 50 or so birds could fly absolutely in sync in these crazy patterns just floored me for some reason. "So, how do birds know how to follow the leader, and trade off, etc." "Well, that's instinct." Ok, well, if everything cool about animals is instinctual, then why is evolution necessary? Doesn't instinct, by nature, not require evolution?

So, there's a girl at my work who broke her leg skiing, and she's been walking around on crutches the last couple weeks. I was walking behind her the other day...slowly, and I had a sudden thought. If I pushed her down, it would be very hard for her to get back up. The lust I had over that absolutely venemous power kind of scared me. I think it's time for Big Brother to put me away, or at least make sure that I never get any REAL power.

They say you know you're starting to master a new language when you start to think in that language. I started learning Spanish by audiobooks during my 2-hour commutes, and after the first week (after which I assumed I'd be fluent), I tried to figure out what language I think in. My conclusion: I don't think in any language. I think based on emotion and the purest and humblest form of the id. I am more of an instinctual robot than a thoughtful intellectual expressing my curiosity in the tongues of Shakespearean sonnets. My stomach grumbles, I look around for a red-haired girl on a sign telling me that I can get a double-stack hamburger for a buck. No English necessary. No thinking at all, in fact.

So, trees are pretty cool, right? They take CO2 and turn it into O2. Awesome. Why can't we develop machines that can do that on a much larger scale? Then we can place these tall machines around the neighborhood, make them solar powered, paint them brown, and glue plastic leaves on them. Ten times the benefit of a real tree, with no annoying squirrels.

As I was eating (playing with) Runts yesterday afternoon and turning a banana piece and two orange pieces into a happy face, I realized that there might be an idea here. What if Runts or some other candy company released their candy in all sorts of different shapes? Not just banana crescents and the rest all circles. But, triangles, slivers, ovals, curves, etc. So, that kids could create designs and pictures with them before eating. The candy company could sell this high-fructose concoction as a total learning experience.

Here is a very inexpensive psychological test you can perform at your workplace that can bring you great pleasure. Requisite: the men's room needs to have urinals. Put a quarter in each of the urinals (This works better if there's that plastic grate preventing the quarter from getting flushed away). Then come back in a few hours and see if the quarter's there. (Even if you don't have the plastic grating there, it's still an interesting test, because the person will feel guilty for flushing money out of reach. However, you'll never get to find out if the quarter was swiped or merely flushed.) Give it a try, and report your data. See if you work with a bunch of desperate sickos.

So, as a Chicago sports fan, when I see players come and go, I always assume it's for the best. The latest being, Thomas Jones, the most successful Bears rusher since Walter Payton (which doesn't say much) is now a N.Y. Jet, opening up the #1 slot in the Bears backfield for Cedric Benson. Now, I've never been a big TJ fan, and actually think that this might not be as bad of a thing as does the city of Chicago currently. But, do I think that just because I'm a fan of the Bears, and therefore, give the benefit of the doubt to the Bears Management. Similarly, when we move Cubbies around, and I disagree with a move, I say, "Well, they probably know what they're doing." Do I do that politically as well? If a guy I voted for makes a decision that seems ridiculous to me, do I jump to defend him too? Maybe I should stop giving people the benefit of the doubt.

So, the issue of the Chicago smoking ban came up yesterday. And I found myself on the minority side of the battle all throughout the day, unable to convince anybody of my viewpoint. Both sides of the argument were very well addressed on fellow contributor to this project, Jeff's blog, over a year ago. So, instead of starting the debate at ground zero, read those comments, then state your thoughts. After a day straight of debating this, I think it comes down to a few simple points. Is a bar a private establishment? And if so, should the city be able to tell that owner that people can not do in that establishment something that is not against the law? By the way, the ban is already underway, so it's not about stopping it. This is just a simple exercise in thought and fascism.

So, there's a lot of "global warming is a myth" rhetoric going around recently. Most of it is fairly unconvincing to me, even though it's very tempting for me to want to believe. But, this is the first piece of evidence I've read in a while that is actually fairly compelling - the fact that the planet Mars is experiencing a global warming of their own. A few months ago, I read an article that theorized that the sun was getting hotter, a process called 'global irradiance' and therefore, could be responsible for the majority of our warming pattern on Earth. Turns out that carbon dioxide "ice caps" on Mars have been diminishing for the past three summers. Obviously, humans are not the source of this problem on Mars. Could it be that big flaming ball my bronzen skin worships?